THOUSANDS of people from the North-East will be given Britain's first ID cards under a voluntary trial expected to lead to compulsory cards within a decade.

Home Secretary David Blunkett announced that Newcastle was one of four locations picked to test out the groundbreaking use of "biometric" data.

Starting within weeks, volunteers will have their face, iris and fingers scanned in a purpose-built booth to produce a demonstration ID card.

The trial is designed to test the cost and difficulties of processing applicants for voluntary cards, which are expected to be introduced in 2007.

Thousands of volunteers are being urged to come forward to join the Newcastle trial, which is expected to finish in August.

The UK Passport Service wants to process 10,000 demonstration cards at Newcastle, London, Leicester and Glasgow and at a mobile unit that will tour the country.

The volunteers will be allowed to keep the demonstration cards, but they cannot be used for any official purpose. The information on the database will be destroyed after the trial.

Paul Wilson, spokesman for the Passport Service, said: "We want to know how people will react to the process, exactly how many people can go through in one day and also how we should deal with exceptional cases.

"Some people may have a disability which means their iris cannot be scanned, or others may have worn finger tips due to heavy manual labour."

The trial was announced as Mr Blunkett unveiled a draft Identity Card Bill yesterday, before full legislation is introduced in Parliament in the autumn.

Mr Blunkett insisted Britain would be seen as a soft touch by terrorists unless it matched other leading countries, which were turning to biometrics.

He said the cards would help to tackle other serious crimes, including drug trafficking, money laundering and illegal immigration.

After protests from other Cabinet members, Parliament will be given a vote every time a government department wants to make ID cards compulsory for any public service.

This means cards will not have to be produced to get treatment at a GP's surgery unless specifically approved by MPs.

If the cards become compulsory, it will not be a criminal offence not to have one. Fixed penalty notices of up to £1,000.

Anyone wishing to take part in the trial should ring Mori which will recruit volunteers, on (020) 7347 3023 or email trial@mori.com